Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1887-03-06

hot: the imporsanee a . warming i.
land can readily be seen.
No apology Is needed for occupyfn.
e much space in the e0pious exfraei
from the letter Of avalnea correspond
ents q. d. Ward, az Oakvifle. III. Il
/ Tor the subject Is fraught with ereai
interest % the farmers of washington
and what i there said Is wei said. AM
evidently from the pen Of 3 prar4icai
man, drawn out Of what was written
"a previous number Of . Familial
lalks, asking why the farmers y
Washington did not raise their owu
garden seeds He SAYS:
The reason why / DO not grow then,
exclusively rs a business IS that I &c
not know how 10 probably dispose a
the1n. Having been employed In seed
growing, 1 have years Of experience. /.
e. 10 garden seeds. ANY careful farmer
can cultivate field seeds. but to grow
garden seeds u superior quality for
term Of years needs, first, q careful
man, and next, much theoretical and
practical knowledge. What saws one
l never raised ten pounds Of seed n
my life but they were the delight Of
my neighborz and produced excellent
vegetables Very true. So viii the
ignorant and inexperienced stoekraiser
say Of some favorite bull; but. watch
ing the course Of this man for some
years, we shall see his stock of color
and manifesfiy deteriorating. Even
more constant care Is necessary for
garden seeds than stockraising.
NO one can successfully cultivate
more than one kind Of cabbage seed on
the same farm, or even in the same
neighborhood, and preserve a uniform
type. Spite Of all selecting or wedding
II raised anywhere near together the
kinds viii merge. The same Is true Of
onions and radishes, and of all the
family Brassica. and to a greater or
less extent this Is true of nearly all Of
our most valued vegetables or plants.
BY procuring seed from our most
reliable growers to produce from. fair
suceess~Enight be expected. Yet there
u an objection 70 this in the fact that
the beneficial effects of naturalization
would be partially lost. Seeds import
ed from Holland. whose pedigree has
been for many years confined TO that
country, might be expected 70 succeed
better here than those grown under
the parehing suns Of America, because
the climates are more nearly similar;
or even English seed would be prefer
able. 1t may also be safely concluded
that complete success will not be
achieved in the raising Of tobacco, corn.
melons, squashes, tomatoes, etc, until
u is done from seeds having q long
generatiYe line located in this Kind OF
. climate.
Plants, like animals, are the pro-
ducts Of certain chimes. countries and
conditions, but, by nature being fixed,
they succumb TO a change much more
slowly.
In purchasing span Of mules. who
would think Of selecting from Cuba,
though all else were equal, in room OF
Canadag And yet this principle is
disregarded where so much more inn
portant in the selection of seeds; for
in one generation animals viii gain a
degree OF adaptability which viii take
many for plant
There are, of course, exceptions to
the above rule, but only in modified
degree. Thus Prussian-grown cauli-
flower seeds are best in the United
States and English-grown nearly val
ueless, nor are American on their own
soil equal TO Prussian, while onion seed
grown here are very superior.
As a rule, where the wild parent
form or any Of its varieties are found,
there may the success of the cultivated
be expected to be complete.
am aware that too little attention
Il paid 20 these all-important matters,
even among many seedsmen. and much
10 the detriment OF their customers;
and it Is a constant practice TO mix all
seeds left over with the new crop, and
the result is in the seeds you purchase
a grade Of ages and consequent feeble
ness in plants produced.
" have raised few seeds here for
experiment and my own use, and
have found that some kinds Of a supe-
rior quality are produced, notable
among which are lettuce, cabbage and
the root crops. heavier and better seed
than have seen elsewhere.